This weekend is one of my most favorite times of the year. It is April Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, when the Prophet and all Twelve Apostles, as well as other leaders of the Church. will speak. I look forward with great excitement to April Conference, and then again in six months to October Conference. I love to hear the talks and the music, they are always inspiring and bring the spirit, but there is another part of me that looks forward to conference because of the happy memories it always brings to me.
About 45 years ago today I was in Salt Lake City, attending Conference in person. Friday afternoon we all piled into our station wagon and drove through the night so we could get to Salt Lake City in time for Conference to begin on Saturday morning. I remember driving up to the Hotel Utah in the middle of the night. It was amazing! I don't think I had ever staying in a hotel before, certainly not one like this! It was so big, and ornate, and beautiful. We drove right up to the front doors where we all had to get out and let someone else park the car for us. I was awe struck as we entered the huge lobby with marble floor and pillars. Our room was just as impressive. It had an ornate, old fashioned window which looked out over the street far below. It was so cool!
Saturday morning we went across the street to have breakfast in a little restaurant on the ground floor of a big business building. It must have been the first time in my life that I ate breakfast at a restaurant, I was so excited. Then we crossed the street to Temple Square, where we strolled through beautiful flower gardens and examined statues of pioneers and famous church leaders. There were authentic cabins in one corner which we could walk around and study, seeing how the pioneers lived. We marvelled at the Tabernacle and read how it was constructed, and toured the visitor center, but best of all was being able to walk around the beautiful Salt Lake Temple. It was so big, so lovely, so amazing! When Conference started we went inside the Tabernacle and sat on long, shining wood benches and listened to the Tabernacle Choir sing, and then to the Prophet talk. How wonderful. Afterwards we walked up and down the streets surrounding Temple Square. In one little store I bought a post card with a tiny packet of salt from the Salt Lake stapled to the corner. It was all so much fun!
The next morning was Easter Sunday. We listened to the first session of conference on the radio in our room, then packed our bags so we could go home. It was a dark, cloudy day, and suddenly mom exclaimed, "Look, it's snowing!" I couldn't believe my eyes! We all rushed to the window and looked outside to see big white flakes falling lazily from the sky. It was so amazing! For a little girl raised in the Arizona desert this was the most awesome part of the whole trip.
Dad hurried us down to the lobby and out to our car. He was worried about driving in the snow, and for good reason. By the time we were out of town and on the highway the storm had turned into a blizzard. A few hours later, as we crawled past the city of Payson, Utah, dad finally decided we couldn't go any farther. It was just too dangerous. So, best part of the trip, we stopped in Payson and found a little Motel where we could spend the night. My brothers and sisters and I were so excited to get out and see the snow, it was lovely. We were also excited to get to stay in a motel, although the two little rooms we shared were a far cry from our huge, ornate room at the Hotel Utah. I was most excited because our delay meant I got to miss school on Monday.
The final icing on the cake was watching a movie on TV that night, all of us bundled in quilts, sitting on the bed in one room. It was Easter Sunday, and the movie that night was The Robe. Mom had seen the movie many years before, and she was excited for us to watch it with her. We probably never would have watched it if there had been an alternative, but since it was our only choice we watched, and we loved the movie! I still love it today.
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